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[0:00] Robert Bannon: This is Robert Bannon, and before I hit the theme song and introduce the show, I want to tell you about some exciting Roundtable news. The Roundtable has a brand new website. You can go to robertbannon.com, find out all about me, find out all about the show, brand new and now up and running with brand new Roundtable merchandise. Go to robertbannon.com, follow me on Instagram, and make sure you're subscribing to us wherever you listen to YouTube. Now let's do a show.

[0:52] Robert Bannon: Take a listen to Let Me Be Me, and it's out with our friends at Joy Machine Records. I've heard it. I've listened to it. It's beautiful. It's gorgeous. The incredibly talented Miu Sato, wait, you hear this piano in this story, everybody. We are excited to welcome the one and only Miu Sato. Is it Sato?

[1:12] Miu Sato: Sato. Yes.

[1:13] Robert Bannon: Okay. Woo. Miu Sato is here. Thank you for being here.

[1:16] Miu Sato: Thank you for having me.

[1:18] Robert Bannon: So when I read your story, you have a story that I see Singapore, Hong Kong, New York, you've been around this world. How long have you been here in the United States?

[1:31] Miu Sato: This is a total of my sixth year. So six years. Yeah. But my first time was like when I was in high school, and I was like here in New York. And then I came back for doing my undergrad and master's at NYU. So yeah, it's crazy. Six years.

[1:45] Robert Bannon: Does it feel like home now? Does it feel far from home? How do you deal with the two worlds that you kind of grown up in?

[1:52] Miu Sato: Yeah, I think more and more as I've met artists and like musicians and the music community that I so like gravitate towards here in New York and like New York is such a hub right of like just creative energy and like everybody's just so down to kind of like do the work and chase after their dreams and kind of like chase after whatever they're going for. So I feel that the more time I've spent here for sure it's a place that I'm slowly starting to call home and hopefully maybe one day but I feel that like, you know, my answer kind of changes depending on the day and I hope that it's like all the places that I've been grateful to be a part of is essentially still a fabric of what I call home. So yeah, New York is definitely up there for sure, though.

[2:34] Robert Bannon: I get it. I give you so much credit because I moved at 42 years old from New York to Detroit for my husband who's a Detroiter and we moved here for work and I can feel homesick and lonely and that's an hour plane ride. I mean, you traveling and for your art is quite, when did you fall in love with music? When is your first memory of you wanting to do this?

[2:48] Miu Sato: I think, I mean, music has always been an important part of my life. I think since the age of three I was, I started playing piano when I was three and I didn't quite, I guess at the time because, you know, you're three years old, like what can you actually know? But I don't think it really clicked for me and like really genuinely resonated of like, oh no, like I feel that this is something I can offer with my lens and in this medium and this art form until probably about like high school and that kind of was everything that kind of rolled on from there with the people that I met, the ensembles I was able to be a part of, like that kind of all trickled down to where I am right now and the kind of artist and composer and person that I want to be, so yeah.

[3:40] Robert Bannon: That's what I'm going to say, you are an artist, you are a composer, you do film scores, you, what, how do you describe what you do? What is your instrument of choice? What do you do? I see Broadway posters in the background but I hear TV and film scores on your bio plus this album, so what do you do? Explain what's your career?

[3:56] Miu Sato: Yeah, I'm a composer, songwriter, orchestrator, producer primarily and I love working between film, TV, media and theater and kind of just, yeah, the art form of just storytelling, so that's why I find myself in these two mediums and yeah, that's what I would call myself as. I do love like every kind of like aspect of it, of like the playing part, the like arranging part, the producing part and the, yeah, just all aspects of it of just, I think I find my joy in genuinely getting to be in rooms with different kinds of people and creating something that only certain kinds of, you know, collaborations can happen and thrive on, so I think that's why I find myself spread across like all these different kinds of worlds but at the end of the day, it's, to me, it's a very singular like lane of like, it is just the people and the kind of stories and like the collaborations, so but yeah, find me anywhere.

[4:52] Robert Bannon: That's it, she's everywhere, find her everywhere, follow her on social media.

[4:56] Miu Sato: Find me on the streets of New York actually.

[4:56] Robert Bannon: She'll be there, she's just playing or playing in the streets of New York instrument wise. You're a composer, you play the piano.

[5:07] Miu Sato: Yes.

[5:07] Robert Bannon: So what is your relationship, is the piano a love, is it a contentious relationship? Do you sometimes, you know, I've heard people say like I want to push this piano out though, some days it fights with me, some days I'm in tune with the piano. What is your love affair with the piano?

[5:21] Miu Sato: Listen, it's a love, hey, I feel like that's the same across the board. Like when I was growing up, like when I had my piano lessons, like as a kid, believe me, I was like, I'm not built for this, I can't do this. I was like, I do not want to do it with the piano anymore but no, I think in terms of like writing and like getting whatever it is on my mind and kind of stories I want to tell like out there for sure, like she's a real one, she's a best friend. So yeah, on those days that are really great but I think growing up for sure, I was like, I cannot deal with this person at all, so yeah.

[5:51] Robert Bannon: Have you ever tried to teach piano to kids ever in your life?

[5:56] Miu Sato: I actually part-time teach piano and I do and I think it's like, I find a lot of joy in it. I think some days I'm like, you know, I don't, like it's just not today but yeah, I think it's something that I was introduced to like super early on in my life personally so I love like, my current like roster is like anywhere from like the age of five to, I think my oldest student is like, I think she's 13 or so, so it's like a wide range but yeah, sometimes I'm like, this is a lot and I don't know how educators do it and I so appreciate them, we need all those music educators but yeah, like I, if I can kind of introduce music in some form of their life early on, I'd love that because that's kind of what happened to me and I really resonated with it so yeah.

[6:45] Robert Bannon: I get it, I'm the worst piano player and I taught piano lessons for a minute and it was, if you, once you get the kid under the bench back on the seat because they don't want to be there.

[6:51] Miu Sato: Listen, right, it's like the parents put them there and they're just like, I'm just here to do whatever my parents want and I was like, great, great. Honestly, that's how I started too so you never know, you never know where you go. Get underneath the bench, find middle C and let's go, hot cross buns. Let's go.

[7:10] Robert Bannon: So what made you make the album? When was the idea for the album? I know you orchestrated and I know you've composed, it's been on television, you have stuff that's been out about but what made you put it together for an album and how do you describe the sound? What are you doing on, what is it?

[7:23] Miu Sato: Yeah, so it's called To Let Me Be Me and it kind of originated like three years ago from a song that I wrote called Home which was essentially like the seed of the whole album in terms of what I wanted to explore which is very much my experience as a third culture kid which means somebody who spent a lot of their developmental years like growing up outside of their parents' culture. So I'm Japanese but I mainly grew up in Singapore and across Asia and New York so that was kind of the main inspo of like, I didn't realize I wanted to write about it until it was kind of a question that I was posed on from someone but that kind of led me to really dig into like, oh let me explore, yeah, what home can mean for me and for other people, what it means to grow up between different, it doesn't have to be cultures but for me cultures, like different communities, different versions of yourself and so that kind of became the essence of this album and I wrote like a collection of songs that eventually made the cut so yeah, that's what it, that's what this exciting project is.

[8:34] Robert Bannon: It sure does, it made the cut and it's out and you can see it is streaming, it's available and people can hear it. Let's talk about some of the songs. So a song like, Who Do I Want To Be? Things like, or what, where the ideas come from? What's your, a song like that, is it in your head? Do you sit, do you sit and play around? Do you hear a melody? Do you sing it in your phone? Like, what is the journey of a song like that?

[8:54] Miu Sato: Yeah, for Who Do I Want To Be, it was very much like me at the piano, very simple, just playing a couple ideas that I had melodically and then I kind of just started like, almost like journaling out like verbally as like, it's almost like you're writing a journal but there's like background music but I'm playing it and then I was just like putting out like words and things that were on my mind for that song specifically. I was just like super fascinated by how accents can shape our perception of people because I've realized like, especially the past five years that I've been here, I think I get a lot of assumptions, whether good or bad, like in both ways and I was just fascinated by it and of like, oh wow, like accents are such a powerful thing that I think often get underlooked of that can really shape your first impression of people and certain perceptions and so that was kind of like my little journal entry of things I experienced and things I've seen other people experience and then I was just writing at the piano and then it came pretty quickly, I think like in a couple sittings and then I brought it to my co-producer Archie Lewis Harris and my co-arranger Sam Russo, my wonderful.

[10:06] Miu Sato: Thank you for having me, Robert. I'm really excited to be here and talk about my new EP, "To Let Me Be Me."

[10:31] Miu Sato: This project is really personal to me. It explores my journey of identity and belonging, especially having moved between different cultures and countries throughout my life.

[10:56] Miu Sato: Growing up in Singapore, and then living in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and New York, I often felt caught between worlds. This EP reflects that experience and the struggle to find my voice.

[11:21] Miu Sato: Each song on the EP tells a part of my story. For example, "Who Do I Wanna Be" is about the search for self-identity and the pressure to conform to societal expectations.

[11:51] Miu Sato: I think many people can relate to that feeling of trying to figure out who they are, especially when they come from diverse backgrounds.

[12:20] Miu Sato: Another song, "Hold On," speaks to the importance of resilience and the courage to embrace every part of ourselves, even when it's difficult.

[12:49] Miu Sato: I really wanted to create music that resonates with anyone who has ever felt like they don't quite fit in.

[13:19] Miu Sato: The title "To Let Me Be Me" encapsulates the essence of this journey—it's about accepting ourselves and allowing our true selves to shine.

[13:48] Miu Sato: I hope that listeners can find comfort and inspiration in these songs, knowing that they are not alone in their struggles.

[14:17] Miu Sato: Music has always been a way for me to express my feelings and experiences, and I'm grateful to share this part of my journey with the world.

[14:47] Miu Sato: Beyond the music, I also want to encourage conversations about identity and belonging, which are so important in today's world.

[15:17] Miu Sato: I believe that by sharing our stories, we can foster understanding and connection among people from different backgrounds.

[15:47] Miu Sato: I'm really proud of this EP and the message it carries. It's a celebration of individuality and the freedom to simply be ourselves.

[16:17] Miu Sato: Thank you for giving me the platform to share my music and my story, Robert. It means a lot to me.

[16:47] Miu Sato: I'm excited for everyone to hear it and hope it resonates with them as much as it does with me.

[17:17] Miu Sato: I think art has the power to bring people together and create a sense of belonging, and that's what I aim to do with my music.

[17:47] Miu Sato: So, I really appreciate this opportunity to discuss my work and the themes behind it.

[18:17] Miu Sato: It's been a journey of self-discovery, and I'm looking forward to what the future holds.

[18:46] Miu Sato: Thank you again for having me on the show, Robert. I'm excited to share more about my music and the stories behind it.

[19:16] Miu Sato: I hope listeners will find their own voice through my music and feel empowered to embrace their true selves.

[19:46] Miu Sato: Let's continue this conversation and explore what it means to truly be ourselves in a world that often tries to define us.